Consumers are now concerned about financial advisers if there is nowhere to check verified public feedback about the business, according to Lisa Beale, head of Checkaprofessional.
This is selling point of Ms Beale’s service and rivals such as Vouchedfor: ultimately, they say, advisers should recognise that ratings services are a better place for consumers to post their thoughts on their firms than through word of mouth or blogs that are not interactive.
She says: “If consumers cannot give feedback and they are not happy, some are turning to commenting on blogs, where there is no control and no right of reply at all.
“How can a business defend itself if they limit themselves to this scenario only? Also how many consumers read these blogs and how many clients could a business potentially lose?
“Using client feedback about your services and skills has always been valuable, but with online focus playing an ever bigger role in peoples lives, it has now become crucial to your business and how you run it.
For financial services providers, Ms Beale says ratings services can bring huge immediate and medium-term advantages, not least getting more new clients and understanding viewpoints on what is great about your business and what is not.
Online listings are a brilliant way to drive traffic to your website and enquiries to your inbox, agrees Karen Barrett, chief executive of Unbiased. However, she says advisers should make sure they pick the correct listing to cultivate to make sure they benefit.
Her own service sells itself on its history and its prominent positioning. As the oldest adviser-exclusive directory with an established range of partnerships across other websites Unbiased generates more than one million visitors every year.
Ms Barrett also points to evidence that people are now seeking advice more than ever since the Retail Distribution Review and she says traffic has increased by 33 per cent over the last year.
She says: “At Unbiased we have optimised every profile on our site to be picked up by search engines and also partner with thousands of websites so that your firm will be seen by more potential clients.
“Unlike most other online listings we also run a comprehensive PR campaign through the personal finance media to raise awareness of why people should be considering the services of a professional adviser and direct them to where they can easily find one.”
